GUWAHATI, Sept 14 - The 24-hour strike called by the Greater Guwahati Mini City Bus Coordination Committee in protest against the recent drive by the district administration and the Regional Transport Authority against city buses and other public carriages, caused serious inconvenience to the general public today even as the administration pressed into service the full fleet of ASTC buses stationed in the city.
The committee is demanding that the city buses seized during the recent drive by the special inspection team formed by the administration be released and handed back to the respective owners.
The committee, consisting of five unions, claimed that today�s strike was a success. Long queues of commuters were noticed at many places across the city.
The district administration, on the other hand, claimed that the strike did not hamper normal life in the city.
Speaking to The Assam Tribune, Kamrup Metro Deputy Commissioner Dr M Angamuthu said that the administration deployed 350 ASTC city buses in the city for convenience of commuters.
�In addition, the Guwahati Transport Association (GTA), which is the oldest association of city buses in Guwahati, did not participate in the strike and their 300 buses also plied normally. So overall, there were around 650 city buses on the roads today. The public did not suffer any inconvenience,� he said.
The Deputy Commissioner said that the administration will continue with its drive against city buses and other public carriages which violate provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act and norms set by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA).
He said the five unions which took part in the strike will be issued showcause notices.
Angamuthu added that having multiple unions of city buses has resulted in chaos and a single coordination committee comprising all city bus owners will be formed. All the unions will have to join the coordination committee.
The district administration had last month formed a special inspection team headed by Additional Deputy Commissioner RP Barua, comprising officials from the Traffic Police, ASTC, DTO and other departments, to take action against buses, trekkers and other public carrieges found to be violating rules regarding route permit, pollution and safety aspects.
Five of the city bus unions had termed the administration�s action as arbitrary and called for the 24-hour strike.
